Now and Then (song)
| "Now and Then" | |
|---|---|
| Song by John Lennon | |
| Recorded | 1979 |
| Studio | The Dakota (New York City) |
| Length | 4:56 |
| Songwriter(s) | John Lennon |
| "Now and Then" | |
|---|---|
| Song by The Beatles | |
| Recorded | 20–21 March 1995 |
| Studio |
|
| Songwriter(s) | John Lennon |
| Producer(s) | Jeff Lynne |
"Now and Then" (sometimes referred to as "I Don't Want to Lose You" or "Miss You") is an unfinished song by John Lennon, recorded in 1978 as a solo piano/vocal demo. After his death, it was considered as a third possible reunion single by his former band, the Beatles, for their 1995 autobiographical project The Beatles Anthology.
Lennon wrote "Now and Then" in the late 1970s, around the same time as "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love". He recorded the unfinished piece of music in a demo form at his home at the Dakota Building, New York City, around 1979. The lyrics are typical of the apologetic love songs that Lennon wrote in the later half of his career. Despite reports, for the most part the verses are nearly complete, though there are still a few lines that Lennon did not flesh out on the demo tape performance.
In January 1994, Paul McCartney was given two tape cassettes by Lennon's widow Yoko Ono that included home recordings of songs Lennon never completed or released commercially. The songs on the tape included the eventually completed and released "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love", in addition to two other songs was a tape with the words "for Paul" scrawled hastily in John's handwriting, which included "Grow Old With Me" and "Now and Then". In March 1995, the three surviving Beatles began work on "Now and Then" by recording a rough backing track that was to be used as an overdub. However, after only two days of recording, all work on the song ceased and plans for a third reunion single were scrapped permanently.
According to McCartney, George Harrison "didn't want to do it," while an unnamed participant told the Daily Express: "George just didn’t want to rework it because it’s not a matter of putting some vocals, or a bit of bass and drums to finish it. With this, you have to really build the song." Producer Jeff Lynne reported that "It was one day—one afternoon, really—messing with it. The song had a chorus but is almost totally lacking in verses. We did the backing track, a rough go that we really didn't finish." An additional factor behind scrapping the song was a technical defect in the original recording. As with "Real Love", a 60-cycle mains hum can be heard throughout Lennon's demo recording. However, it was noticeably louder on '"Now and Then", making it much harder to remove.
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